progressive involvement

Ginned up

George Weigel, known now as a "Catholic scholar," was the official biographer for John Paul II, his hero.  In regard to the ginned up controversy over Catholic hospitals offering contraception coverage for non-Catholic employees--that's all it's about, folks--Weigel said:

"This has struck a tribal nerve in Catholicism," Catholic scholar George Weigel said to Chuck Todd on the Daily Rundown. "The Catholic Church has been beaten up over the last 10 or 11 years and I think Catholics are tired of the government and others beating up on the church."

I doubt every bit of that.  In the first place, since 98% of Roman Catholics practice some form of birth control, where's the nerve been struck?  Only among the culture-warrior bishops and bureaucratic apparatchiks of Roman-dom.

The Catholic church has been beaten up over the last 10 or 11 years?  As Charles Pierce puts it:  "The Church has been 'beaten up' over the last 10 or 12 years because, at its highest possible echelons, it functioned as an international conspiracy to obstruct justice regarding the crime of sexual assault."

Perhaps my experience with Roman Catholics is not representative, but, of the many whom I know, precisely none would say that the government is beating up on the church.  In fact, they are more likely to say that the biggest problem in the church is clueless bishops.

In any case, it appears the administration is preparing to cave on its utterly reasonable health care requirements.  Why should Catholic hospitals be exempt from offering contraception coverage to non-Catholic employees?  How is that not an infringement on the religious beliefs of those employees?

Besides, how it is some kind of persecution for an organization providing health care to follow the law if it wishes to retain a tax break?

Their power play looks like it's working.  Which is too bad because it's all a big bluff.

Why you can't trust ideologues

The Susan B. Komen Foundation has been in a week-long frenzy of attempted damage control, desperately trying to, as they say, save its "brand," and all because of an ideologue who got herself into a powerful position within the organization and decided to put the organization at risk in order to grind an ideological ax.

The Komen official most associated with the ending of grants for Planned Parenthood is Karen Handel, a former GOP politician in Georgia and the current vice president for public policy for Komen, last seen chortling about how Komen could end grants to PP and blame it on Congress.

Whether Komen can save itself is still up in the air, but right now it looks doubtful.  For one thing, they appear not to have entirely gotten the message.  They now say they will fulfill the grants they have made with Planned Parenthood, but it is not clear whether or not the Komen Foundation will give grants to Planned Parenthood in the future.

The Komen foundation had already made a number of questionable moves, such as partnering with just about anybody who would slap a pink ribbon on themselves, and that's not even to mention removing the words "breast" and "cancer" from the name of the organization because, one supposes, some focus group found them "negative".

Maybe the "race for the cure" could be replaced with a fundraiser for Planned Parenthood.

Partial list of progressive accomplishments over the past 100 years

Publicly regulated or owned transportation, sanitation and utilities systems, antitrust laws, increased fairness in taxation, expansion of the public education and juvenile justice systems, safer workplaces, workmens' compensation, oversight of the purity of water, medicines and foods.

Conservation of the national wilderness heritage against overdevelopment, honest bidding on any public mining, lumbering and ranching.

The eight-hour day, the minimum wage, the conservation of natural resources and the protection of our air, water, and land, women's rights and civil rights, free trade unions, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid,  and a civil service based on merit.

Romneycare didn't raise taxes in Massachusetts because the federal government picked up half the cost, thanks to Ted Kennedy

Here.

The courage of their convictions

Put some brown people in the audience and, all of a sudden, Mitt and Newt argue about who loves immigrants the most.

For most people, it's a day or so

Wondering how long Mitt Romney has to "work" to earn what you earn in a year.  Check slate.com's calculator widget.

Who says there's no evidence of evolution?

Words used by Mitt Romney over the past month, in order, regarding making his tax returns public:  doubt, consider, not opposed, probably, will (in April).

On the 15th anniversary of his censure by the House of Representatives on a bipartisan vote of 395-28...

Newt wins South Carolina.

The civil war is so not over

Gingrich knows the way to South Carolina's heart.  He became the favorite in the South Carolina primary the second he played the race card on Fox news reporter, Juan Williams, in the GOP candidates debate on Tuesday.  That moment fed his surge, and propelled him to a big victory today.

South Carolina was the first state to leave the union after the election of Abraham Lincoln.  Anti-union fervor was highest in the Palmetto State.  It fired the first shot in the civil war, and never quite accepted defeat.  Voting for Gingrich is its most recent "up yours" statement to the rest of America.

Nail-biting time for Romney

Three new South Carolina polls show Gingrich making a move.  One even has Gingrich ahead.  

Then Perry exits the race, endorses Gingrich, and throws at least a few more votes his way.  Sarah Palin likewise endorses Gingrich.  ABC News then says it will wait until next week to air their interview with the second Mrs. Gingrich, who promises some real dish on her ex.  

Now, to top it off, there's a national conversation about tax returns.  Flowers and huzzahs for Gingrich, heart flutter and angst for Romney.  

And it turns out that Santorum really won Iowa, by 34 votes.